Unitary authority · E06000035
Medway
Outstanding borrowing is the MHCLG live-table stock, not a press figure. Crime is police-recorded and mapped from Community Safety Partnership areas. Political control is the 2026 Open Council Data composition snapshot.
Total outstanding borrowing
£746.5m
£746,519,000
Debt per resident
£2,550
Using mid-2025 population of 292,697
Population
292,697
ONS mid-year estimate
Recorded crime rate
0.4 per 1,000
107 offences, year to March 2026
Borrowing
Medway reported £746,519,000 of outstanding borrowing as at 30 June 2026. That is total outstanding borrowing (all sources, including loans from other local authorities). About £2,550 per resident.
Figures converted from £ thousand as published. This is a stock of outstanding borrowing, not the annual deficit.
Source: MHCLG — Borrowing and investment live table, Q1 2026 to 2027. As of 30 Jun 2026 · Q1 2026–27 (as at 30 June 2026).
Population
292,697 usual residents at mid-2025, on 2023 local authority boundaries.
Source: ONS — Estimates of the population for England and Wales, mid-2025. As of 30 Jun 2025 · Mid-2025 (2023 local authority boundaries).
Recorded crime
107 police-recorded offences excluding fraud, a rate of 0.4 per 1,000.
Police force / area: Kent [note 4].
Community Safety Partnership: Medway.
Police recorded crime excluding fraud, CSP area “Medway” (Kent [note 4] Police).
Source: ONS / Home Office — Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area data tables (Tables C2 and C4). As of 31 Mar 2026 · Year ending March 2026.
Who runs the council
Labour majority on a council of 59 seats.
- Labour 31
- Conservative 18
- Liberal Democrats 0
- Plaid Cymru 0
- Green 0
- Reform UK 3
- Other 7
Open Council Data is a curated compilation of published council compositions, not an official government statistical release.
Source: Open Council Data UK — GB council compositions 2016–2026. As of 1 May 2026 · 2026 composition snapshot (shortly after the May local elections / by-elections).
Last local election / current composition
Labour majority; 59 seats (Lab 31, Con 18, LD 0, Green 0, Reform 3, other 7)
Next scheduled local election (from the councillor file): 6 May 2027. Election calendar
Next UK general election: not yet set. National and mayoral dates: Election calendar.
Source: Open Council Data UK council compositions and councillor file, 2026. As of 1 May 2026.
2024 general election in this area
Labour won 3 of 3 overlapping constituency/constituencies. Parliamentary constituencies do not match council boundaries exactly.
- Labour35.8% · 44,654 votes
- Conservative28.7% · 35,754 votes
- Reform UK23.1% · 28,747 votes
- Green5.8% · 7,249 votes
- Liberal Democrats5.1% · 6,317 votes
Indicative sum of votes in overlapping constituencies. Some constituencies cross local authority boundaries, so this is not a precise LA result.
3 overlapping constituencies
- Chatham and Aylesford: Labour — Tristan Osborne
- Gillingham and Rainham: Labour — Naushabah Khan
- Rochester and Strood: Labour — Lauren Edwards
Source: House of Commons Library — General election 2024 results (CBP-10009). As of 4 Jul 2024.
Council tax (Band D)
Full rankings- Area Band D
- £2,328.55
- £ change
- +£113.17
- % change
- +5.11%
- Rank
- 223 of 296financial year 2026 to 2027
Area Band D for a two-adult Band D dwelling in this billing authority, including adult social care, parish and major precepts. Ranked 223 of 296 in England for 2026-27.
Source: MHCLG — Live tables on Council Tax: Band D Council Tax figures 1993 onwards (Area_CT / Area_CT_%). As of 22 Apr 2026 · financial year 2026 to 2027.
Explain this numberArea Band D council tax
The MHCLG area Band D figure for a two-adult Band D dwelling in this billing area — the billing authority plus adult social care, parish and major precepts (county or GLA, police, fire, combined authority).
- Not average council tax per dwelling, and not the amount every household pays (bands A–H are fixed fractions of Band D; discounts and premiums apply).
- Shire districts appear in the ranking because they are billing authorities. Watchtower’s primary council rows are CTYUA, so counties have no single area Band D.
- Year-on-year % is the official live-table column. We do not invent bills.
- Wales is a separate StatsWales / Welsh Government collection and is ranked on its own table — not mixed with MHCLG England figures.
Source: MHCLG — Live tables on Council Tax: Band D Council Tax figures 1993 onwards (Area_CT / Area_CT_%). As of 22 Apr 2026 · financial year 2026 to 2027.
MPs covering this area
Parliamentary constituencies from the House of Commons Library GE 2024 results that overlap this council (ONS lookup). Sitting MPs are joined from the committed Members API snapshot — usually by constituency name. ONS constituency codes are shown for the seat; the Members API has no ONS codes, so a code-level join is not available. Name-only joins are labelled.
- Matched on constituency name
Chatham and Aylesford
E14001157 · GE 2024: Labour — Tristan Osborne
LabourRMFI entries in latest register: 2
Recent stored division: voted Aye on Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading (11 Sept 2026).
- Matched on constituency name
Gillingham and Rainham
E14001246 · GE 2024: Labour — Naushabah Khan
LabourRMFI entries in latest register: 8
Recent stored division: voted No on Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading (11 Sept 2026).
- Matched on constituency name
Rochester and Strood
E14001447 · GE 2024: Labour — Lauren Edwards
LabourRMFI entries in latest register: 4
Recent stored division: voted Aye on Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading (11 Sept 2026).
Source: House of Commons Library — General election 2024 results (CBP-10009). As of 4 Jul 2024.
Source: UK Parliament Members API (committed snapshot). As of 13 Sept 2026.